"I have long believed that good food, good eating is all about risk. Whether we're talking about unpasteurized Stilton, raw oysters or working for organized crime 'associates,' food, for me, has always been an adventure."--Anthony Bourdain

Directions:

Directions:

Stewed ChickenWash and clean chicken. (Leigh adds: Wash and Clorax the sink and anything that came near the chicken!) Place chicken in deep soup kettle or pot. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer until tender (at least an hour.) Discard onion and celery. Remove chicken, cover and keep warm. (I put the chicken in a roasting pan in a warm oven.) Bring chicken broth to a full boil before adding dumpling dough.

Dumpling DoughMix flour, salt and baking powder. Cut shortening into flour as for biscuits. Stir in milk and knead dough until firm. (Note: Use only enough milk so that dough holds together.) Roll out on floured surface to 1/8 inch thickness and cut into strips about 1½ inch wide. Drop a few at a time into the boiling chicken broth. Continue adding dumplings, being certain that the liquid is kept at a boil and that each new dumpling falls into the broth and doesn't stick to another dumpling. (After it goes into the stock, it is cooked enough so that it doesn't stick to the others.) Cook ½ of the dough at a time. After the first half of the dumplings are added, cover tightly and turn the heat down to simmer and continue cooking for 20 minutes (just like rice.) Remove the dumplings from the broth (keep warm or serve while the others are cooking) and cook the second batch following the instructions for the first batch. Cut chicken into serving sized pieces. Reheat, if needed. I serve the dumplings in one large bowl and the chicken on a platter, but others serve them together. I often increase the flour to 3 cups, salt to ¾ t., 3 t. baking powder, 4½ tablespoons shortening and about 1 cup milk. My family likes the dumplings even more than the chicken!

Number Of
Servings:

Number Of
Servings:

5 - 6 or more if recipe is increased

Preparation
Time:

Preparation
Time:

about 20 minutes Cooking 20 x 2

Personal
Notes:

Personal
Notes:

Mattie Jefferson was the most wonderful housekeeper, nursemaid, and friend. She took care of Ellen and Ted while I taught and Hugh was in medical school. When I had to stay late for a teachers' meeting, chicken and dumplings often saved my day. I never fix this dish that I don't think of how lucky we were to have known Mattie.

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